Trial and Error
by GiaShakira
Summary: He led a squadron in the 4th Shinobi war only to shirk his councilmen duties to his Kage and countrymen upon arriving home. His recent conversations with his sister have been one-sided at best, and his Genin feel abandoned and alone.He's been evading his sensei, and he's locked himself inside of his house. Everyone just summed it up to PTSD, but none of them ever suspected treason.
1. Chapter 1

Trial & Error

By GiaShakira

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, or any of the various Naruto Gaidens. I am getting no money from this. I am writing just to have a hobby! Happy reading!

 **5 Months ago...**

Temari scrunched up her nose at the smell of alcohol in the house. She followed the awful smell to its source in the kitchen.

Temari shook her head at what she saw. Karasu's parts lay scattered all over the kitchen floor. Their owner was clad in his Bunraku clothing, and sat in the middle of all the puppet parts.

"Must you break everything you buy? You got home weeks ago and the first thing you do is take Karasu apart, but you never put him back together until weeks have passed. Repairs my ass! Your just lazy."

Kankuro rolled his eyes as he tried to install a trigger in Karasu's elbow.

"Why don't you go do something useful? Like, like wash the dishes, or clean yourself up? You reek of Araq! I know that there is a slight possibility that you have PTSD from the Fourth Shinobi War, but becoming an alcoholic isn't gonna help!"

Kankuro rolled to his feet and moved past Temari as if she wasn't even there. Temari covered her nose to evade inhaling his alcoholic scent trail. He got a knife out of the drawer and walked back to Karasu's elbow. Bending down to pick up some spare screws he popped back up and sat down at the kitchen table. Temari reared her head back as she noticed, for the first time, that her little brother had actually grown a couple of inches. Did he lose a few pounds? Was that even possible with the amount of arak he had been consuming?

"Don't you have some council work to do? Or maybe you could actually reach out to your Genin team for a change. They miss you, you know. You haven't spent any time with them at all since you and Gaara got back from that summit in Konoha three weeks ago."

Kankuro grunted as he began tightening the loose screws that connected Karusu's elbow to his forearm.

"You know this one sided conversation is really boring. In fact it's more boring than my conversations with the Nara."

Temari waited for Kankuro's reaction to Gaara's ex-proxy. It was common knowledge that even though her brother had respected the Konohan for his intelligence, he did not particularly like the frequency of his visits with Temari. She had hoped that her name dropping would get Kankuro to respond with something! He'd been ignoring them for weeks.

She waited.

…

And waited...

And waited some more…

And then her Sunan temper flared.

"Ugh,you're impossible! Fine! You want to stay in this house?! Locked away from society? Shirking your responsibilities as our _**brother's councilman**_ when he needs you the most? Go ahead! See if I care. Because I don't. He's still got Baki, and Baki is worth 10 of you! You weren't the only one in a war, Kankuro. Do you see the rest of our world leaders receding into themselves like you? No, they're not. The Raikage lost an arm, _**an arm , Kankuro!-**_ and he hasn't had time to process that until now! Do you know what he does Kankuro? He still leads. He doesn't drink so much alcohol in his parent's house, and force his own Kage from his own home because of the putrid smell! So, if that's the kind of ass-hole that you want to be. Then you can be it, but this is the last time I come to check on you! You're on your own!"

Kankuro didn't even look up to watch Temari storm out. He didn't even wince when he heard the door slam shut. Instead he lifted Karasu's head with his chakra strings, and brought it to his face.

"Whaddaya think, Karasu? Think we outta say goodbye before we go?"

The puppet said nothing.

Kankuro finished reconnecting Karasu's head with his right shoulder and arm. He then put what he had of Karasu in a scroll, and put the scroll on his back. He looked at Karasu's other scattered "parts" on the kitchen floor and chuckled.

"Aw, poor can't tell a puppet part from an explosive, and she's supposed to be the smart one."

He shook his head.

He connected his chakra strings to each explosive and positioned the strings around the tiny triggers.

"Sorry 'bout this, little buddy. I promise I'll fix you up when we get to Kumogakure. Your sacrifice will not be in vain."

With a flick of his wrist the strings went taut, right before they dissolved into a sea of fire and debris. Yondaime's house exploded into chunks of sand, smoke, and fire.

By the time Gaara or Temari, would be able to even identify the embers as their old house, he would be long gone on a mission that his Kazekage had never approved or assigned.

To be continued….


	2. Chapter 2

Trial & Error

By GiaShakira

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I am writing this as a hobby. I receive no money for this story.

 **2 months ago…**

Red.

Once it had been his most feared color. It symbolized death, torture, insanity, and a constant reminder that he was never the focus of either of his parents' attention. He wasn't the first born nor was he the baby. Even in the baby boy category he had failed. Usurped by a demon container and a dead mother.

Red.

He was also the dreaded middle child, a reservoir for the leftovers of affection-or disdain in his father's case. He never doubted his mother's love, but his father was always sketchy. And Rasa wasn't above manipulating Kankuro's admiration and love to get a mission objective done. Bah, sentiment. Who needed it?

Red.

Gaara's sand coffins had given Kankuro a strong aversion to dirty kills. He liked clean deaths, and was proud that he could send another person into the next life as peacefully as possible. He'd let Gaara have the obsession with blood. Red just wasn't his color, or so he thought.

Red

He had been hiding out in Kumogakure under a new name, a new look, and a ton of anger. If he were to die in this newly created life that he had made for himself, his grave would say Aratamaru. His new look was actually what he really looked like underneath his bunraku and war paint. Of course, he had to change some minor details. He was a carbon copy of his sire. Couldn't have the citizens sending word to his baby bro, now could we? Noooooo.

Red

He had been in Kumogakure for three months, and in that three months he had performed various missions for the Raikage. However, due to how well suited he was for these missions, the Sunan puppeteer found himself with an enormous amount of something he had never had a lot of- free time.

Red

Being a brother, student, councilmen, sensei, and puppeteer rarely left as much free time to dawdle as so many thought it did. Kankuro was a fairly busy man. So, imagine his surprise when his free time over the past three months started to be filled with red, but not the usual red that he was accustomed too.

Red

He could talk with this red. He didn't have to worry about this red threatening a sand coffin on his ass. He didn't have to be a reservoir of leftovers for this red. This red could actually be different, welcoming, a red he could come to like.

Red.

Until he figured out that this red was connected to someone in his old squadron. It was at that moment that he realized that because of what the Raikage was asking of him he would never be able to see how much he might possibly be able to finally like the color red.

If he failed at this bullshit mission, not approved by his Kage, then he would have to revert back to his old red. This new red and his old red would mix, and it would be her red blood that would make him feel regret the most. More so than that of his kin.

It's in the basement of this assigned house that he hosts the hulking Raikage of Kumogakure. No one knows that they are even meeting-have been for three months. Not even A's right hand man knows about this mission.

"I can't stay much longer."

"I'm aware. Listen if things don't work out with your Kazekage, then I'd be more than willing to set you up here."

Kankuro chuckled. "Permission to speak, freely?"

"You're not my subordinate, so-"

"Exactly." Kankuro cut in. "Don't get things twisted. You are not my Kage. I'm here for Suna. This isn't permanent. I have more on the line to loose than you on this one. My Kage isn't just my Kage. He's my brother. My ex-psychopath, Jinchuriku baby brother with trust issues."

"…and if he doesn't trust you back after your 'death' and he sentences you to a real death for "treason"? What then?"

"I knew the risks when I agreed to this."

"And what about her?"

"Aratamaru will die next week, and she'll grieve. She won't have any ties to Kankuro, Rasa's son. I'm sure Omoi will take good care of her."

"…"

"It seems fitting really. I never liked the color red, anyway."

His words sounded sure, but his stomach twisted in knots of regret that would never be brought to light.

To be continued…


End file.
